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Life Lessons From the Trailer Park
My wife almost bought a t-shirt for me with this quote-
“You can take the boy of the trailer park, but you can’t take the trailer park out of the boy.”
It’s true. I spent a good chunk of my elementary age years living in trailer parks across West Texas.
I was that kid riding around on my bike sporting a mullet, wearing a “Dukes of Hazzard” cut-off t-shirt, swim trunks that were too small, with flip-flops that didn’t match. Needless to say, I was the posterboy for the trailer park.
Say what you want about trailer parks (yes, there is a lot you could say) but they aren’t all bad. In fact, there are some very solid things they can teach us.
Here are three life lessons I picked up living in trailer parks:
- Community Happens
Tornadoes love trailer parks. You’ve never experienced real community unless you’ve lived in a trailer park when a twister hits. Most trailers I lived in had a communal shelter where everyone gathered when a funnel cloud was visible. It’s funny when I look back on those times. That underground basement would be packed with people, dogs, toolboxes, shotguns, and cigarettes. The few times a tornado did hit, people helped each other out. Giving what they could, tipping back over pick-up trucks, and opening up their homes. We were all in the same boat. I learned to give the “Dukes of Hazzard” shirt off my back to someone who needed it. - Leadership Rises
In my experience, traditional families were rare in trailer parks. Single mom’s, who worked 2-3 jobs, seemed to be the norm. This left many kids unsupervised. I was one of those kids. While intact families were rare, the ones that did exist often kept watch over all of us “hellions.” What few men there were became leaders and father figures around the trailer park. The rednecks became the “patriarchs” of the park. That always impressed me. If any dirtbags came in our ‘hood causing trouble, they were quickly beaten with a monkey wrench and bitten by German Shepherds. Men stood up for their trailer park people and so did their dawgs. We could use more men like that. - Self-Righteousness Sucks
Most people outside the park looked down on those of us in the park. When people drove by the trailer park they seemed to have that “you’re nothing but trash” look on their face. I got used to it. But I remember making a friend at school and we planned a sleepover for a Saturday night and I would go to church with his family on Sunday morning. Sadly, it was not to be. When I asked my friend why, he said his parents didn’t want to have a “trailer park kid” over. I was sad. It seemed unfair. And even in elementary school I recognized that it was wrong. This is probably why I get ticked off at “Christians” who think they’re better than everyone else.
I believe Jesus would have fit right in with the trailer park. He would have encouraged community, wanted the men to be strong leaders, and been angry with the self-righteous people who wouldn’t have anything to do with “trailer park trash” like me. AKA, “the least of these.”
My trailer park days may be behind me, but I carry those lessons with me today.
It might be true that you can’t take the trailer park out of the boy. But then again, why would you want to?
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I was born in a pink single wide. We weren’t even in a park. I need to come up with a post about that. I’m sure there is deep truth in there somewhere.